WVU (1-0) won the regular season opener over Georgia Southern, 15-3. They started slowly, but came alive down the stretch to dominate the final five innings. They trailed 3-1 after four innings, but did not let the Eagles score another run and pounced on their bullpen. Returning pitchers Reese Bassinger and JJ Glasscock finished the game strong, and Bassinger secured the victory. WVU has a doubleheader against the Eagles tomorrow, February 14, to close out the series. Read more: WVU Baseball wins opener over Georgia Southern.
Early innings
Carter DeGondea started on the mound for Georgia Southern and pitched well in the first inning. He hit Matt Ineich with a pitch, but was picked up by his defense when Armani Guzman grounded into a double play. Cole Chansen took the mound for WVU in the bottom of the first and struggled with two outs. He walked James McCoy, and Sean White reached base on a fielder’s choice, which did not result in an out. Bryson Trammell singled on an 0-2 count to put the Eagles on the scoreboard.
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Matthew Graveline secured the first hit of the game for WVU in the top of the second. He singled, and Paul Schoenfeld walked in the following at-bat. The Mountaineers did not score, though, with two consecutive outs. Cole gave up back-to-back singles to start the second inning. He loaded the bases after he hit Grant Jordan by a pitch with zero outs. Jack Myers grounded out to shortstop but recorded an RBI to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead early in the game.
WVU finally got a run across the plate in the third inning. Tyrus Hall started the inning with a single and advanced to second base after Ineich moved him over on a groundout. Armani Guzman doubled down the right field line, and Hall scored from second base.
Cole gave up a one-out single and walked the following batter in the bottom of the third. He got the next batter to fly out, and that ended his night after 63 pitches. He allowed four hits, two earned runs, and struck out three batters. Bryson Thacker replaced him and got out of the inning.
Middle innings
Georgia Southern extended their lead to two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Thacker hit the first batter and walked the second. Myers sacrificed himself to move the runners to second and third, a decision that proved wise under head coach Rodney Hennon. McCoy hit a sacrifice fly to score a run before the inning ended.
Dayson Griffin replaced DeGondea on the mound for the Eagles in the top of the fifth. Hall singled to start the inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and stole third. Hall did all of that before Gavin Kelly walked on four pitches, but he was thrown out attempting to steal second. Ineich was hit by a pitch and was caught stealing second while Hall scored WVU’s second run of the inning. Thacker struck out the first batter in the bottom of the inning, and Reese Bassinger replaced him and finished the inning cleanly.
WVU broke open the floodgates in the sixth inning. Ben Lumsden hit a sacrifice fly to scorer Sean Smith for the first of six runs in the inning. Schoenfeld scored on a balk, and Kelly drove in two runs with a single to right field. Guzman tallied two RBIs with a double to right-center with two outs.
Late innings
The seventh inning was the only clean inning of the night, with neither team scoring a run. Bassinger took the mound for WVU again and put himself in line for the win. WVU took complete control of the game with four runs in the eighth inning. The Mountaineers scored two runs following multiple errors by the Eagles. Graveline drove in a run with a double to left center, and Schoenfeld singled to drive in another. WVU led 12-3 after the eighth inning.
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WVU got a lot of fresh players in the game at the bottom of the inning. Erdos Creed took over behind the plate for Graveline, Brock Wills went to center, Maxwell Molessa in left, Matthew Robaugh at third base, and Ryan Maggy remained in the game at first base after pinch-hitting for Brodie Kresser.
Ineich capped off the night with a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth. Wills knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to give WVU 15 runs. JJ Glasscock replaced Bassinger in the final frame and finished the game on nine pitches. Georgia Southern did not score a run in the final five innings of the game, and WVU won 15-3.
Top performers
- A. Guzman (WVU): 2-for-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI
- G. Kelly (WVU): 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB
- M. Ineich (WVU): 1-for-2, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB
- R. Bassinger (WVU): 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 K (W)
What’s next?
WVU returns to action tomorrow with a doubleheader at Georgia Southern. The game on Sunday was moved to Saturday due to the impending weather. The first game is at 2 p.m. EST, and the second is at 5 p.m. EST. Both games will be played at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.
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